Rigid frame for airships



K. ARNSTEIN RIGID FRAME FOR AIRSHIPS Filed Sept. 5. 1921 Inventor;

Patented Aug. 19, 1924;.

RIGID FRAME Application filed. September To all whom itmag concern:

Be it known that I, KARL o ARNSTEIN a citizen of the German Republic, residing at Friedrichshafen, a. 13., Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rigid Frames for Airships (for which I have filed application in Germany March 4, 1920), of which the following is a specification.

My invention refersto airshipsof the rigid type and more especially to the rigid structure surrounding the gas cells. Its particular object is to improve and strengthen this structure.

The load transmitting partitions of the rigid airships consist of ring-shaped poly onal frames whose corners are interconnected by wires. The length of a side of the polygon is limited by the admissible distance of the longitudinal members between which the skin is stayed. As this admissible free span of the skin is very short in relation to the diameter of the ship, specially with larger ships, a great number of sides are required. As further, in the construction of known type, a staying of all the corners was necessary there were produced considerable initial tensions and a system which is statically very sensitive so that especially with larger airships-inappropriately thick rings were required.

These inconveniences are avoided according to this invention by reducing at will the number of the corner-points to be stayed in uniting several sides of the polygon to form a truss without increasing the free span of the skin as between the stayed corners in which the main longitudinal girders are situated any required number of unstayed polygon corners of auxiliary longitudinal girders can be used as supporting points.

It is advisable to include, at the lower half of the airship, in the frameworkshaped construction of the ring parts the gangway stanchions in order to withstand better the compressive forces which act fromthe outside upon the skin at the lower part of the airship and further to compensate the stress on the excessively loaded rings.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood, I shall proceed to describe the r as nal girders.

isacsa GERMANY, essreivon 'TO THE 'FIRM LUF'D or rninnnionsnernn, GERMANY. I

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a, 1921; SerialNo, 498,487.

struction diagrammatically shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein.:

Fig. 1 is across section of al'rigid frame .for an airship,

showing apart of the airship formedby two rings and the appertaining longitudi- Referring to 'Fig. "1 the stayed main .Fig. QLis'the corresponding side elevation I points, of intersection are designated by a,

and the intermediary points of intersection by b, in which the longitudinal girders 0 are supported which serve to form the shape,

d are thegangway stanchions which are I connected with the lower ring parts by means of props e. f are the staying wires whichconnect the main points of intersection in the plane of the ring.

In Fig. 2 the main longitudinal girders are designated by g, the intermediary longitudinalgirders by c. The wires or cables h are conducted over the intermediary girders 0 and serve as diagonal bracing for the panes formed by the stayedring parts andthe main longitudinal girders.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of constructionshown and described, for obvious'modifica'tions will occur to a person skilled in the artp ing'its end points in common with adjacent trusses, a gangway structure between two such trusses, means for bracing such gangway against said two trusses and diagonal structure between two such trusses, means for bracing such gangWay against "said two trusses and diagona -l bracing members intel-connecting the common endpoints between the trusses and the top of said gang- Way structure;

4. Rgid airship structure comprising longitud nal girders and transverse polygonal W ames interconnected by said longitudinal gi ders, groups o mo th n Q accen corners of each frame being stayed-to V a substantia y symmetrica ,p nel truss havingi e d Poin in common w h a jacen itruf fSs, ..-aic1 longitudina girders extndi'ng through all the outside corners of said frames and diagonal bracing members interconnecting such common end points.

5. Rigid airship structure comprising longitudinal girders and transverse polygonal frames interconnected by said longitudinal girders, groups of more than two adjacent corners of ;each frame being stayed to form a substantially sy nmetricalpanel truss having its end points in common With adjacent trusses, diagonal bracing members interconnecting such common end points and circumferential diagonal bracing members extending from the point of intersection of one longitudinal girder with onei'rame to the point ofintersection of another longitudinal girder with another frame and across intervening longitudinal girders.

In testimony whereof 7 flix my signature in {presence of two Witnesses.

KARL ARNSTEIN. it eSe O'r'ro Von'rsoH, 

